NEWS

Supporting people with disability

At Programmed we aim to create a diverse and inclusive team representative of our community. Over the past six years this has included attracting, engaging and retaining a greater number of people who identify as having a disability.

Our major partner, Australian Network on Disability (AND), assists us to make our workplaces more accessible to people with disabilities and to provide sustainable employment opportunities.

In 2017 we’re proud to say that five Programmed employees volunteered to be part of AND’s PACE (Positive Action towards Career Engagement) mentoring program. They are:

Nat Hickcox, General Manager VIC, Facility Management

Erin Leith, National HR Manager, Industrial Maintenance

David Mansour, Rehabilitation Advisor VIC, Group Services

Ben Newnham, Recruitment Team Leader, Industrial Maintenance

Danuta Elliott, Admin Team Leader, Industrial Maintenance

Through this program Nat’s Victorian team has recently employed Abel Choo as an Administration Assistant, and he is “already showing the type of flexibility and commitment that we love in employees,” according to Nat.

“In a short period Abel has slotted in nicely to the team, and importantly, the current team members have been very open and welcoming”, he says.

Mentoring is a three month commitment that allows our employees the opportunity to share their experiences and knowledge, as well as develop their leadership skills. The mentees gain greater understanding and increased confidence that allows them to set out into the workforce.

We work with a number of employment partners who assist us to identify and place people with disability into our business, including EDGE in Western Australia, and EPIC on the East Coast. “Employing people from across the community means our talent pool is much larger, it also means we’re getting the best person for the job” says Chris Sutherland.

Nat says that the key to recruiting people with disability is seeking them out. “If you think that they will apply via a standard seek.com.au advertisement it will not happen. That is why Programmed’s partnership with AND is so vital for keeping us up to date with talented candidates who will make Programmed a better company”.